We are intending to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Kensington with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Kensington solicitor, however the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or retain our Kensington property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; can we not require that the bank use our Kensington lawyer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Kensington conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Kensington? Why is this being asked of me?
To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Kensington conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is usually satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing where you reside.
In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are duty bound to validate not only the ID of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this will result in your lawyer ending their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.
Your property lawyers will have an obligation to make a disclosure to the appropriate authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.
I have been told that property searches are a common cause of delay in Kensington conveyancing transactions. Is this right?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Kensington.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Kensington 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?
Gone are the days when you need to have the physical official documentation to evidence that you are the registered proprietor of land or premises, given that the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.
My father-in-law has suggested that I instruct his conveyancers in Kensington. Should I use them?
There are no two ways about it the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to have recommendations from friends or relatives who have actually used the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.
I work for a long established estate agent office in Kensington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Kensington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Kensington conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kensington property is 93 Oakwood Court in June 2010. the LVT determined that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £492,083, This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 37.79 years.